Even More Insects! Plus Some Mussels

 Monday I stayed fairly local.  I checked out the pond at Brander Park, Port Lambton first thing.  In the past, this has been a great spot for insects.  Need to check it more often!

I was rather early in the day, so there was not much activity, but I did find a decent species of bluet.  These appeared to be Westfall's Slender Bluet (ssp. of Slender) which is uncommon around here.  Perhaps it is more widespread than we know.

Other insects:

Narrow-headed Marsh Fly

Swamp Spreadwing

Tule Bluet

It was such a nice day, I headed up to Reid CA after lunch.  I saw a couple of Dukes' Skippers right away.

I even saw another hairstreak (Hickory), so I am up to three!

Some other thing were seen along the trail.

Slender Spreadwing

Acanthocephala terminalis

Common Thick-leg Fly

Eastern Tailed-Blue

Grey Treefrog (baby!)

Broad-winged Skippers were flying, but I still could not get a photo of one!

Yesterday, I had the urge to head up to north Lambton.  It was not as productive as I had hoped, but that has been the case in most places this summer.

I started at Ausable River Cut CA.  Very few dragonflies, but this Lancet Clubtail briefly posed.

A few skippers were along the river edge.

Delaware Skipper

Crossline Skipper

One spot along the river had a multitude of mussels.  Several were in the "rare" category.

Wabash Pigtoe
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Snuffbox
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Deertoe
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Mapleleaf

Three-ridge is quite common here.

Later, I walked L-Lake trail at Port Franks, then headed over to Ipperwash Forested Dunes and Swales. Mosquitoes were the most common thing!

Walking was very limited as many parts were flooded due to the excessive rain lately.

Spicebush Swallowtail

I even stopped by Forest lagoons, not expecting much.  It is not an inviting place for shorebirds this summer with the high water levels!  I was hoping to find Variegated Meadowhawk since I had them there in the past, but no luck.  Lots of Halloween Pennants.

Halloween Pennant

Another stop was Marthaville Habitat Management Area near Petrolia.  As expected, I found Slaty Skimmer there.

Last stop was Nicholl's Memorial Forest and Wetland at Wilkesport.  There is a little pond at the west edge of the property that few know about, and is good for odes.  Lots of variety here, but all common things.

Azure Bluet

Familiar Bluet

spreadwing sp.

Today, I checked out some spots locally first thing.  Peers Wetland had a few Great Egrets.  One of these days, I may find a Snowy!  No Limpkin either.

Along the St. Clair River, a Common Loon and Common Merganser were swimming in Sombra Bay.  Occasionally we see these in summer in the area.

Later in the morning, a number of us descended upon a private property near Brigden.  It is a fabulous spot for many things, especially insects.  Highlight was to see the Dukes' Skippers.  They seem to be doing well there, as I saw at least six.

I also spotted a Broad-winged Skipper in the mix.  A Mulberry Wing was seen a few days ago, but we did not encounter that one today.

Other insects included a Spotted Spreadwing (I think).

Common Thick-leg Fly (seem to be quite common everywhere!)

And, an Eastern Calligrapher which is very tiny!

Near the end of the walk, I spotted a Royal River Cruiser patrolling the pond!

A nice way to end the morning!

Eastern Amberwing

Case of the Cassin's

 Continuing on from my short visit to the Bruce Peninsula, I was heading south on highway 21 when word came out that the Cassin's Kingbird had been found again near Pelee Wings.  I was still not certain I would go for it!

As mentioned, it was mistakenly identified by inexperienced birders the day before as a Western Kingbird.  A similar-looking bird, but there are things to look for to differentiate Cassin's vs. Western.

In any case, Cassin's is a mega-rarity for Ontario as there have been seven accepted records up to 2021.

I did not rush south, as I stopped at various places, something that I had intended to do originally on this trip.  I first pulled into Goderich harbour where there appeared to be hundreds of gulls out on the jetty.  I was not going to sort through them!  Anyway, one has to pay to park down at the harbour now, which seems to be the unfortunate and inconvenient trend anywhere anymore.

Continuing south, I next stopped for a brief visit at Ausable River Cut CA.  There were lots of mussels to sort through along the riverbank, but I did not take much time there.  Probably because I knew was going to end up at Pelee!

I saw the usuals, and one stood out.  I had no idea it was one of the really rare ones, called a Snuffbox.  It was my first find of this species!

Others included Three-Ridge, Mapleleaf, Pimpleback and Deertoe among other common ones.

Pimpleback

I will have to spend more time here soon, but there are too many places to go this time of year.

Next top was a bit closer to home at Shetland CA boat launch.  It was a bit early for Blue-ringed Dancer and Dusky Dancer, but I wanted to check it out.  I was only seeing Stream Bluets here.  It is a fabulous spot for studying odonates, worth another visit or two.

Stream Bluet

Another stop was at Reid CA to check on the situation for hairstreaks.  A bit early yet this year it seemed for Oak Hairstreak, as things are a bit late blooming.  Perhaps tomorrow!

It was then on to the Pelee area.  Upon arrival there were many birders present as expected.  The Cassin's Kingbird was seen right away, but was in a shaded area and not super close.  So, photos leave a bit to be desired with my camera.

I managed good looks at the bird, then left as there was one more thing on the agenda.  Dickcissels had finally showed up, seemingly a tad later than usual.  Had to go see one!

I saw one on the 4th line near Stevenson that was reported earlier.

Going home, I went by another spot I knew would have one, and sure enough a male was singing in the pasture.  Turns out there were multiple spots that day that Dickcissels were found!

One more thing of note, last Monday I went looking for the reported Laughing Gull at Keith McLean C. L.  It was a no-show, but a similar bird was there, namely a Franklin's Gull!  A good consolation in any case on a very gloomy morning.